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Some 100,000 North Koreans attended a national memorial service in Pyongyang on December 29 to mourn late leader Kim Jong Il. Civilians, military officers, and high-ranking government officials gathered in Kim Il Sung Square as Kim's successor and younges

Kim Jong Un, who will take over the reins of power in the reclusive state, listened as senior officials eulogized his father.

Shortly afterward, sirens blared across the country marking the official end to the mourning period following Kim's death of heart failure on December 17 at the age of 69.

Kim Yong-nam, head of the Presidium of North Korea's Supreme People's assembly, was quoted by Reuters as saying at the memorial that "our great comrade Kim Jong Il has solved the leadership succession matter perfectly, which is the most precious accomplishment for our country's destiny and endless prosperity of our descendants."

Many observers believe that Kim Jong Il's "military first" policy will continue under his son's rule, leading to further hardship in a country that endured mass starvation in the 1990s.

North Koreans lined the streets on December 28 for a state funeral procession in which a hearse with Kim's casket and a huge portrait of Kim rolled through the square.